Through Kuumbwa Jazz, the Tio family won the ultimate Savannah music experience – tickets to the Savannah Music Festival and a tour of Benedetto Guitars. The family could not have been more delightful, and their son, Nic, is a dedicated jazz student, even arriving at school for “zero” period (which means he’s at school at 7AM) to study his passion. Fred (dad), Andrea (mom), and Tatiana (daughter) joined Nic. We really enjoyed getting to know this Santa Cruz, California family.

Thank you for visiting, Tios!

Long time friend and Benedetto player Dr. Jack Harris stopped by our shop for a visit yesterday afternoon. We caught a photo of Jack with our Master Luthier Damon Mailand, who’s completing the body of a rare nylon string floral sound hole 16B/Sinfonietta.

This gorgeous 16-B Antiqueburst (front & back) is getting its proper clear nitrocellulose lacquer drying-time before lining up in the buffing room. This instrument is not-yet-spoken-for and will go into Bob’s Boutique as soon as its complete, which we expect to be in the next two to three weeks.

The 2015 TEDxCreativeCoast line-up has been announced for its May speaker series, and we are honored that our President, Howard Paul, been included in the line-up to explore the theme “Balancing Act.”

In his bio, TEDx states:

Howard Paul strikes an exhausting balance between performances, lectures, recordings, and running the day-to-day business as President/CEO of internationally renowned Benedetto Guitars, located in Savannah, GA since 2006. He’s performed extensively with guitar legends including Bucky Pizzarelli and Howard Alden and small groups with Grammy winners Tom Scott, Mark Egan, Bob James, and with Tony Monaco, Don Braden, and many others. He’s a 2011 inductee of the Coastal Jazz Hall of Fame. His most recent CD releases is Tony Monaco & Howard Paul – New Adventures 2014. He is married to attorney/clarinetist Patty Paul and has a 17-year old son, Andy.

To learn more about this event, click HERE. Or, just click HERE to get your tickets!

Get creative! Recently, Howard traveled to the UK, and given the small jet for one leg, he was pretty much guaranteed to be declined access with the Gigbag due to small overhead compartments. But he didn’t want to haul a Calton through the streets of London. Solution is a gigbag in the luggage!

Traveling with a guitar is a challenge, though many airlines are taking steps to make it less cumbersome and safer for our instruments. Here are some tips Benedetto President Howard Paul has picked up along the way:

Board early. Use the same airline to earn Frequent Flyer status, you will be permitted early boarding. Until you have acquired this status, you can purchase the option to board early. This will help to ensure have overhead space.

Make sure you know what kind of aircraft you’re on. If even one of the legs of the trip is a CJA (regional jet), whose overhead space cannot accommodate a guitar, don’t bring a gig bag. If the planes are all bigger, consider not even bringing a flight case, just a leather bag.

Allow ample connection time. If you can’t bring your guitar on the plane, you will not be able to leave the gate until your guitar is brought up, and now you run the risk being last aboard the next flight.

Check all of your clothes and carry your guitar. The airline will stop you if you exceed the carry-on allowance of one bag, but not the size requirement of a guitar.

Always dress nicely and treat the gate agents politely. Ask the crew to give final approval even if the gate agents try to block you into valet checking. They don’t really know how full the overhead space is, because they’re not on the plane.

Let them make the call. When boarding, ask the attendant at the door if they’d prefer the case go in the overhead or in a closet.

If you can’t bring your guitar on or to the plane with you, don’t get too overwrought about it. The Calton Cases Benedetto uses are certainly robust enough to handle the luggage compartment, and your guitar will be fine!